It may not be that the line is so thin, but that people should be totally honest with themselves, because God knows the heart. The fact is…

YOU DON’T HAVE TO HATE SOMEONE TO NOT LOVE THEM

The enemy knows that God commanded us to love everyone….

Everyone means everyone.

That’s why he (the enemy) manipulates situations and circumstances to provoke us to NOT LOVE someone who mistreats us, or someone we close to us.

The enemy convinces people to engage in behavior to where what we feel for them may not be HATE, but it’s definitely not LOVE.

He then he manipulates you to lie to yourself and say “I love everybody” because it’s the right thing to say, but your feelings and behavior don’t reflect love.

God didn’t tell us to LIKE everyone…but to LOVE everyone.

Just as Jesus says in Matthew 5:46, even evil people love those who love them.

So, we must be very careful to be honest with ourselves and WATCH THE LOVE LINE! Make sure that what you feel doesn’t CROSS the line from LOVE to NOT LOVE to HATE. The bible says it is impossible to truly love God who we can’t see and hate one another who we can see…

1 John 4:20 (NKJV)

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can[a] he love God whom he has not seen?

Examine yourself, and be honest about your feelings. Give yourself what I like to call the TEST FOR LOVE. It’s easy to find in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV)

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
If what you feel and your behavior towards everyone doesn’t measure up to the criteria in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7…then it’s not love. And, if it’s not love, in God’s eyes, it’s not enough. And, remember, if you have trouble loving those who may seem they don’t deserve our love, ask yourself, what have you done to deserve God’s love?

BE BLESSTIFIED!!!

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Published by Minister Aldtric Johnson M.A.

God bless you! I'm a husband, father and ordained Minister since 1996. I serve as an Associate Minister at Oak Spring Church Arlington TN, a suburb of Memphis. I'm a professional Copywriter for a Fortune 500 company, published Gospel songwriter and owner of an independent label, Al-Go-Rhythm Music. My main spiritual gift is Exhortation...I'm a natural encourager. I love the word of God and sharing it from a "Wow, I never thought of it like that before" perspective. There's so much fresh revelation in God's word that is just as relevant today as it was as it unfolded. I hope my daily devotionals enhance your walk with God, taking you beyond BLESSED to BLESSTIFIED.
View all posts by Minister Aldtric Johnson M.A.